The invention relates to a closing device for a movable element, in particular for a door, a flap or the like, of a vehicle.
A closing device of this type is disclosed in DE 42 28 233 A1. This document describes lock elements, such as a detent pawl, a rotary latch and a closing bolt which interacts with the rotary latch, for locking or unlocking the movable element. The rotary latch is arrested by the detent pawl and in the process surrounds the closing bolt in such a manner that the door is locked. An actuating drive which acts on an arm of the detent pawl is provided for releasing the rotary latch and hence also the closing bolt for the purpose of opening the door. The actuating drive is driven by a switch which is actuated as a function of a handle, such as a door handle, being actuated.
DE 42 28 233 A1 shows the actuating drive as a solenoid having an extendable ram, the ram acting upon one arm of the detent pawl. After current is supplied to the actuating drive, the ram extends and in doing so moves the detent pawl in such a manner that the latter releases the rotary latch in order to be able to unlock the door. After this procedure, or after currentless switching of the actuating drive, the ram returns into its starting position. In the process, it may happen that the ram, during the movement from its working position (actuation of the detent pawl) into its rest position, dynamically rebounds against a stop in this rest position and the detent pawl is thereby partially or completely activated to effect a further release of the rotary latch. This procedure is called apparent closing, this apparent closing constituting a safety risk since the door has possibly again to be closed during this apparent closing but this is not possible since the rotary latch is unable to be arrested by the detent pawl which has been brought into its release position. It goes without saying that an unlocked door or the like, which can thus be opened at any time or is open, constitutes a high safety risk.
There is thus a need for a closing device for a movable element, in particular for a door, a flap or the like, of a vehicle, which effectively prevents the above-described apparent closings.
Other needs will become apparent upon a further reading of the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings.